Laugh. Think. Feel.

Tag Archives: entertainment

Bill Chott plays an unlikeable character who finds redemption in Marshall’s Miracle.

Fans of the Bill Chott’s mailman on This is Us hope he’ll back on the show in the future. But those who can’t wait for that to happen can check him out in the heartwarming but lesser-known movieMarshall’s Miracle.

After getting to know Bill a little through a previous post and subsequent interview, I wanted to see more of him, so my 10-year-old son and I rented this sweet family movie. (It’s available on Demand and on Amazon.)

Inspired by a true story, Marshall’s Miracle shares the adventure of Finn, a 13-year-old boy who has become the target of bullies at his new school. Finn feels hopeless and lonely until he discovers the injured Marshall being held by a dog-hoarder in deplorable conditions and makes it his mission to rescue him. In the end, Marshall leads everyone to a place of change, forgiveness, and friendship,

The uplifting movie teaches important lessons about bullying and animal cruelty, and it’s great for families and kids. (The worst word in it is “darn.”) Some might find it a little schmaltzy, but I’m a sucker for sentimental and sappy, so I loved it.

Chott captured the hearts of America with his brief but deeply affecting scene on This is Us as the mailman who holds back tears when he learns his friend William had died. Since the episode aired a week ago, he’s been overwhelmed by the response and deep affection millions had for his character. Fans have started a campaign to bring him back to the show.

“You going to be OK?” Chott’s Gary asks in this touching scene from Marshall’s Miracle.

In the movie, Chott plays a totally different character, gruff and grumpy, stuck in bad situation as his wife keeps bringing home dogs they can’t properly care for. But he shows the same tenderness This is Us fans fell in love with when he worries about the injured dog, Marshall, then defies his wife and lets Marshall go.

“I enjoyed the chance to get a bit gruff and play Gary,” Chott said. “I’m usually the nice guy, and he is a mostly unlikeable guy with a moment of redemption. It’s also my only role with a beard. I grew it to look a bit less like a baby-face and a bit more rough around the edges. I kept the beard for a year, so Gary stuck around with me a while after the role ended.”

Lauren Holly and Bill Chott face reality in Marshall’s Miracle.

Lauren Holly, perhaps best known for Picket Fences, NCIS and Dumb and Dumber, plays his wife.

“That was a really unique opportunity,” Chott said. “She doesn’t often play that kind of character either, so we both had a chance to stretch a bit.”

The disturbing topic of animal abuse is well-handled, and how Finn and others respond to Marshall reinforce the movie’s theme: Don’t give in to bullying. Be strong, be courageous, and be kind.

That message resonated with Chott.

“I grew up being bullied from time to time, since my family moved a lot,” he said. ” I was always the new kid. I like the way Finn’s story echoes Marshall’s story. They’re both victims of bullying and they’re both able to overcome that adversity.”

The real Marshall

Chott filmed near his hometown of St. Louis, and he joined the real-life Marshall and his owner, Cynthia Willenbrock, who wrote the book “Marshall the Miracle Dog,” at a Special Olympics event. In real-life, the three-legged Marshall and Cynthia have visited more than 1,200 schools, nursing homes, and children’s hospitals to share his story of courage and the will to overcome. He also encourages people to see beyond a person’s disability to what they are capable of accomplishing.

“Marshall immediately inspires empathy because he wears the scars of his former abuse and neglect on the outside,” Willenbrock told me. “When Marshall so lovingly hops right up to every stranger, he has this way of busting open those internal wounds in all of us. Without words, Marshall lets us know we are all enough, exactly as we are.”

Willenbrock is pleased the book and movie helped spread the anti-bullying message, and she partnered with 4-H to make the Marshall Mentor Program available to schools. You can learn more about Marshall’s impact in this video.

“I’ve been fortunate to never see an animal who was abused,” Chott said. “I have a real soft spot for pets, especially dogs. My wife, Sam, and I lost our dog Wally shortly before we found out we were expecting our daughter Isabella. A puppy is in our future, I’m sure.”

Those who love dogs, love Bill and want to see a wholesome film with an important message, should definitely give it a try. It encourages perseverance and standing up for what you believe in.“Sometimes life seems pretty hard,” Finn says in a speech. “Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle happens.”

That’s a message we should all remember.

Watch for Bill’s next guest appearance March 28 on Trial and Error, and read more about him here:

In this first interview since his breakout role, Bill Chott tells us more about his career – and the big secret he had to keep about This is Us. Find out what’s next for him.

After watching this week’s devastating episode of This is Us I wrote a blog post about how much I loved the scene with the mailman. It struck me personally, and I loved the actor’s tender portrayal.

Just a few minutes later, I was thrilled to get a message from the mailman himself, actor Bill Chott. I quickly realized I was far from the only one who was touched by his sensitive performance. Bill and I traded some messages, as our social media exploded with love for the scene and the nameless mailman.

Those tears got to us all.

I wanted to know more about the man who apparently became an overnight sensation (and who I kind of want to be my new best friend.) He’s humble, funny, and kind. He acknowledges people might recognize his as ‘that guy” who has been on a lot of shows. I’m sorry to say I didn’t know his name before he became America’s favorite mailman, but I’ll be watching his career from now on. He’ll appear next on NBC’s new show Trial and Error – and he sent me a photo of him with John Lithgow as a sneak preview.

He was kind enough to talk with me about his wide-ranging career, from campy commercials to inventive improv – and how he feels about being “discovered” after a lifetime in the business.

“This is my first national attention for such a small role,” he said. “I’ve been very humbled by comments from fellow actors saying there are ‘no small roles, only small actors.’”

You’ve probably seen Bill a lot of things – from CSI and ER to Third Rock from the Sun. He appeared for five years on Disney’s “The Wizards of Waverly Place” starring a young Selena Gomez, and was in the 2016 film Marshall’s Miracle”opposite Lauren Holly.

You’ve undoubtedly heard his voice. He voiced cartoons on Saturday Night Live for years, including the announcer and a lot of supporting characters such as the Ambiguously Gay Duo, and X-President. He even voices the doorman and Hundley the dog on Curious George.

He also played Thomas in the Farrelly Brothers film The Ringer and had a bit of a cult following from a sci-fi film.

“Nerds know me best from my appearance in Galaxy Quest,” Bill said.

It was his first big-budget movie, and he played a very small role, a nerd at a convention who gets the autograph of Alan Rickman’s character Sir Alexander Dane and proudly announces, “By Grabthar’s Hammer! By the Sons of Warvan! I shall avenge you!” The line became a catch phrase.

The 47-year-old caught the acting bug in elementary school in St. Louis and hasn’t stopped since. He joined an improv troupe right out of college called The Network at Catch A Rising Star Comedy Club in St. Louis. He moved to Chicago to study improv at The Second City, where Stephen Colbert was his first teacher. He toured the country with comedic powerhouses including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Rachel Dratch, and he still performs and teaches at his improv school, The Improv Trick.

I loved hearing about his work, his passion, and his dreams for the future. Do they include a reprisal of his mailman role? Read on to find out – and learn about the big secret he kept for months.

Did you know when you were filming the mailman scene it was special?

To be honest, when I film a scene, I’m just thinking about that moment, and not necessarily what’s going to happen with it after it’s in the can. My first hint that this could be something big was the Entertainment Weekly article that had my picture in it. That doesn’t always happen to a supporting character actor like myself. I also knew this was a very important scene because I watch the show, and when I read for the audition, the script did not include the fact that William had died. They changed the script on me, so I was sitting on some top-secret information for a long time.

Though your background is in comedy, your emotional scene was so compelling. What’s the difference for you between comedy and drama? Do you have a preference?

I love doing both equally. I think good comedy is drama and good drama needs to have some good comedy with it. That’s one thing I love about This is Us. There’s such dark humor there. The good thing about drama is that if it seems like it’s done well it doesn’t matter what your tastes are, it’s compelling. People can run hot and cold on comedy – everybody has different tastes. But when something’s sad you just know it. I’m trained in both comedic and dramatic acting as well as musical theater. I won a Broadway World Award for my portrayal of Fred Mertz in “I Love Lucy Live on Stage.”

Were you surprised by the attention you received for this guest role?

I’ve been amazed at the response! Social media blew up for me that night, and it keeps growing. Obviously there was a lot of attention from teen fans for Wizards and The Ringer, but that was foreseeable. I was on the poster and had a lot of screen time in The Ringer. I got a lot of attention for my line in Galaxy Quest, and I did an Entertainment Tonight interview for a smaller role on CSI, but nothing like this. I hope it will lead to more dramatic opportunities.

Your growing fan base has lobbied for you to return to This is Us. Will we see the mailman again?

If people want to find out, I suggest they subscribe to my blog at www.billchott.wordpress.com and keep those emails and social media posts and letters to NBC coming! The more they get, the more potential there is for me to appear again if it makes sense for the show’s plot lines. Even if I do get it, I’ll probably have to keep it secret like last time.

What’s your dream role?

Ask Ron Howard! I’m looking forward to a late night call from him. (This happened to Kevin after the opening night of his play in the same episode of This is Us.) Seriously? This role and the way it was received could open up a lot more dramatic roles for me. And I’d be just as happy doing more comedic roles. I’m also having the time of my life teaching improvisation. My dream role would be a dramatic show like Breaking Bad, or my own variety show. Or a long-running stage production.

Tell me a little more about Bill Chott.

I’m also a magician. I’m performing this month at the World Famous Magic Castle in an improvised musical magic show with my magic partner Dave Cox called The Charlatans. And I do a two-man long form improv show with my improv partner Jay Sukow called Zer0 H0ur directed by Jeff Michalski. I teach monthly improv classes in LA for beginners and experts, but I love teaching beginners the most. I just finished a three-week workshop and a weekend of shows at Central Methodist University, where I went to school and met my wife, Samantha Chott. She also taught and performed with me there last week. We have a daughter named Isabella who has already appeared in an improv show. When I shot This Is Us she was on my mind, as well as my father, who passed away recently.

I know this sweet and versatile actor will continue to charm audiences. Learn more about Bill and his wide-ranging work at www.billchott.wordpress.com or follow him on Facebook (where you can see his “Live Jive” videos) and on Twitter @billchott.